Emery boards are old in the art. They usually comprise a support strip made of wood, cardboard, plastic or other such thin material and comprise at least one abrasive surface. The abrasive surface is usually a strip of sandpaper adhered onto the support and bearing abrasive particles, such as emery powder, flint, garnet, or another abrasive powder.
Emery boards are used to file fingernails in order to shape them and smooth them, and eliminate splits, snags or chipping and also to smooth the top of the nail surface.
Fingernails and cuticles are especially prone to chipping, splitting or snagging when they are dry. A number of conditioning agents and emollients are available on the market to condition fingernails and cuticles and reduce the drying tendency and therefore reduce splitting, chipping and snagging. These conditioning agents are normally liquids or semi-solids and are sold in containers. However, in many instances it is inconvenient to carry such containers. Liquids are difficult to transport; the containers are bulky and do not easily fit into a purse or toiletry case. Emery boards, on the other hand, are easy to transport.